Stocking Of New Tank And Fish Compatability

[liamhuckle]

Hi all
I have a 96 litre tank measuring 80cm x 30cm x 40

I currently have

5 neon tetras
5 dalamtion mollys
4 dwarf gouramis

And currwntly looking at getting a pair of kribensis

Would this be my tank full or over full ?

 

[dbanner]

Personally I wouldn't put kribs in a tank of that size. I had 2 in a 180 litre tank before and they took over the tank. Harassed everything that went near them. Including barbs and an opaline (blue) gourami which are known to be the more aggressive type of gourami. Had loads of hiding places which I thought would help but unfortunately it didn't

 

[liamhuckle]

What other fish would you recomend similar would rams be better after like a centre fish

 

[aquariumart22]

Hi, I would suggest against kribs. They tend to get very aggressive while breeding. You could have maybe just a pair of kribs in a 96l with nothing else.

I'm not positive but your tank may be leaning towards overstocked as of right now, all of the fish you have are mid to top dwelling. Maybe think of rehoming the mollies or dwarf gouramis and get some other type of bottom dwellers. Maybe some kuhli loaches or corydoras.

Rams get pretty aggressive while breeding as well. Your better off with some smaller bottom dwellers. Unless you want just kribs or just rams as your focal points, with a shoal of neon tetras.

 

[liamhuckle]

So is there any colourful friendly fish that would be good as centre peice fish if space came up

 

[Zante]

In a tank that size dwarf gouramis should already be a fair centrepiece fish. Is it 1M 3 F?

I would suggest, rather, get a few more neons, maybe 5 more, and a few kuhli loaches, say 8 kuhlis.

 

[liamhuckle]

How would you know what the are m or f they are red with blue stripes through them ? Sorry for my ignorance

 

[dbanner]

What about apistogrammers (dwarf cichlids)... They are a nice colourful centrepiece fish for a small type tank. You could possible get 3 (2 female, 1 male) I know they would be ok with dwarf gourami although I'm not sure if that would make your tank overstocked. I'm guessing it would??

Failing that I would up the number of neons to 10 or maybe even 15... They look better in bigger numbers. Then I would get sand for the bottom (if you don't already have it) and get a nice group of around 10 corys.. Just not sterbai corys as I think they prefer higher temp

 

[liamhuckle]

Like the sounds of the apistogrammers nice looking fish are they peaceful? Any special needs ?

 

[dbanner]

Iv not kept them myself so I can't really comment on them. I mentioned them as I know of people that have kept them with dwarf gourami and i know they are more peaceful in cichlid terms.

When it comes to requirements they can be kept as a pair (1 male, 1 female) but do better in trio's (1 male, 2 females). There are different types of apisto's but in general the females will reach 1-2 inches whilst the males get to around 3 inches so a trio would be ok in a minimum of 20gallons.

They do well in peaceful tanks that are heavily planted and with lots of rocks to use as caves/hiding places. They also do well with dither fish such as tetras. They will chase the tetras around but are not usually quick enough to catch them and cause any harm. They are also good with none aggressive bottom dwellers.

When it comes to water temperature they are best kept at 25-27 degrees c and prefer a water ph of around 6... Hope this helps

 

[Zante]

How would you know what the are m or f they are red with blue stripes through them ? Sorry for my ignorance

Males are a bit bigger and A LOT more colourful and have the dorsal fin that ends in kinda of a point.
Females will be silvery, possibly a shade of red or blue, and you might just about see very faint stripes

Male:

Female:

Images aren't mine, I nicked them off the internet

 

[balajake]

I love my apistogrammas

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/402833-new-apistogramma-pair-arrive/

I suppose mine is abit of a journal now. There are many types but these are mine

 

[liamhuckle]

How would you know what the are m or f they are red with blue stripes through them ? Sorry for my ignorance

Males are a bit bigger and A LOT more colourful and have the dorsal fin that ends in kinda of a point.
Females will be silvery, possibly a shade of red or blue, and you might just about see very faint stripes

Male:

Female:

Images aren't mine, I nicked them off the internet

Looks lije ive got 4 males will that be a problem teach me not to do my research

 

[liamhuckle]

I love my apistogrammas

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/402833-new-apistogramma-pair-arrive/

I suppose mine is abit of a journal now. There are many types but these are mine

Have you got the name of the seller from ebay ?

 

[Essjay]

Looks lije ive got 4 males will that be a problem teach me not to do my research

Yes it will most likely become a problem. Male dwarf gouramis do not like sharing a tank with other males unless it is very big (more than 96 litres) and has lots of plants to break up their line of sight.

How long have you had yours and are they adults or juveniles?